10 Best Football Games-Week 9!

Last week featured the "cannibalization" of the SEC as Tim Brando of CBS likes to put it, as well as several other upsets. Expect more upsets this week, and every week expect more upsets as we get closer to the final BCS standings ever. Another reason why you just gotta love college Saturdays. Then, on Sunday, there were a few more upsets, as the Jets won against their rival, the Patriots, and the Colts proved they're for real by beating the seemingly unbeatable Broncos in Indianapolis. Another reason to love the NFL. Now, on to the picks for week nine!

College (All rankings reflect BCS rankings)

No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 15 Oklahoma, 3:30, Fox

Texas Tech is certainly one of the biggest good surprises of the season. The biggest part is the change at coach, where former quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, a player under former coach Mike Leach, has really changed the culture back to Leach's days. Kingsbury replaced Tommy Tubberville, who performed well, but just didn't really fit into the scheme of things in Lubbock. Texas Tech has really embraced the pass first philosophy, and it has led them to an undefeated record thus far. Granted, it's been against mostly sub par opponents, but just beat who's on your schedule, and reap the benefits. This is undoubtedly their toughest test so far, and the team they lost to in 2008 when the Red Raiders started 10-0. Oklahoma's defense is incredibly good, only giving up less than 150 yards per game through the air, and I expect that trend to continue. Oklahoma has played very well so far this season, with the exception of their dreadful loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma will continue to rely on Blake Bell through the air and his natural running ability.

Pick: Oklahoma 34, Tech 20

No. 12 UCLA at No. 3 Oregon, 7, ESPN

College GameDay is here, and that hasn't been so kind to the host team so far this season. But, Oregon's atmosphere is unlike any other, and Oregon's offense is one that seemingly cannot be stopped. Marcus Mariota is truly a big time Heisman candidate, and the Ducks defense has been playing surprisingly well too. UCLA will need to find it's offense again to really try and make this game competitive. But, I don't think they can do it.

Pick: Oregon 42, UCLA 28

No. 21 South Carolina at No. 5 Mizzou, 7, ESPN2

This is another team with a surprisingly good record coming into week nine, with Mizzou shocking pretty much everyone outside their own market with a undefeated record. They are one win away of essentially locking down the SEC East (which doesn't make any geographical sense, but not much does in the world of sports). Mizzou has done so with solid quarterback play, and with a really good defense, leading the East with 23 sacks on the season. Mizzou has also gotten good play from backups Maty Mauk and Aarion Penton. Mauk replaced former quarterback James Franklin, and led a total of eight scoring drives against a very good Florida defense. Penton also got an interception while replacing starting cornerback E.J. Gaines. South Carolina will really need Jadeveon Clowney to wreak havoc on Mauk and the Mizzou running game if they want to stay in the game and also try and have Connor Shaw healthy enough to play. I personally think this Mizzou team is on a mission, and they can win at home.

Pick: Mizzou 44, South Carolina 31

Penn State at No. 4 Ohio State, 8, ABC

Penn State is coming off an emotional quadruple overtime victory two weeks ago at home against a fraudulent Michigan team. So, even though Penn State has had two weeks to prepare, I can't imagine they have enough fight in them to beat two ranked opponents in a row. Plus, this game is at night in the horseshoe, no chance they are beating Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes.

Pick: Ohio State 49, Penn State 23

No. 6 Stanford at No. 25 Oregon State, 10:30, ESPN

After Stanford demolished UCLA at home, they look to go on the road and continue to try and get back to the PAC-12 title game. Stanford punished UCLA in all aspects of the game last week, en route to a two touchdown victory. Oregon State has surged ever since losing in week one to Division 1-AA foe Eastern Washington, but they haven't played anyone of true significance to get them to this ranking. They will come out inspired to show everyone they are for real and back for contention within the PAC-12, but it won't come against Stanford.

Pick: Stanford 24, Oregon State 20

NFL

New York Giants at Philadelphia, 1, Fox

Philly needs this game to continue to keep pace with the Cowboys in the NFC Least, while the Giants are coming off their first victory of the season against a pretty bad Vikings team. New York also didn't fare too well in this rivalry, losing by 11, thanks to a few timely interceptions. Philly's defense also has been playing well since their week four demolishing by Denver. Plus, Philly has Mike Vick coming back at quarterback, who really has played pretty well so far before getting injured while scrambling against these same Giants. Finally, the Eagles have to win at home sometime, right?

Pick: Philly 34, Giants 21

Dallas at Detroit, 1, Fox

Detroit has played fairly well so far, putting up nice point totals in each game, as well as having Reggie Bush, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford all playing supremely well. It's just been the defense which has let them down. Dallas is coming into this game on a high after beating Philadelphia in Philadelphia, and they're now the sole leader atop the division. But, that won't last long after this game.

Pick: Detroit 28, Dallas 23

Miami at New England, 1, CBS

New England can't possibly lose two in a row, can they?

Pick: New England 39, Miami 26

Buffalo at New Orleans, 1, CBS

New Orleans has been playing spectacular so far this season. They've got their mojo back after the whole bountygate scandal of 2012, and it's paid off via a 5-1 record. Plus, they've had a week to prepare for a gritty Buffalo team, who just won't give up on any game. No chance they lose here.

Pick: New Orleans 35, Buffalo 21

New York Jets at Cincinnati, 4, CBS

New York has been playing surprisingly well so far this season. The defense has been playing really well, Geno Smith has been managing the game well, and Bilal Powell has been a steady force at running back. Cincy meanwhile, has also been playing really well, with their only losses to a good Bears team, and to an inspired Cleveland team. Cincy very well could be a legit player in the AFC, as they have the weapons on offense to do it, and a solid defense.

Pick: Cincy 28, New York 23

World Series Preview

This World Series is a rematch of the 2004 World Series, but there is only one player leftover from that Series, David Ortiz. So, really just take all of that Series out the window, and focus on the 2013 incarnations of the Cardinals and Red Sox. Plus, there is no way this Series ends the way that one did, in a sweep by Boston. These are two classic baseball teams and cities, plus, the ratings have been up all postseason. So, that should make Fox a very happy broadcast partner with relatively high ratings, say in the 10-12 range. Now, on to the actual preview.

Boston was predicted in the beginning of the season to finish around the middle of the pack in the AL East, with everyone but them predicted to finish ahead of them. They made very savvy free agent signings, and have brought up their uber prospect to play in some games in the postseason. All of their savvy signings paid off too, with very good results from each. Mike Napoli, who has made the transition from catcher to first baseman quite seamlessly, has been pretty good defensively at first, has hit his usual .250, and slammed some big homers. Plus, Napoli has been the leader behind the beard craze in Boston, with everyone grabbing on to his beard after he hits a home run, and become somewhat of a cult figure up there. Then, there is Shane Victorino, who has made Fenway Park's right field his home and played very good defense out there, as well as stealing bases at the right time, and hit a huge grand slam to lead the Red Sox into the World Series. Then, Stephen Drew has played fantastic defense at shortstop, which is what he was signed to do. Finally, the Red Sox uber prospect, Xander Boegaerts, has filled in for Drew at shortstop, and has provided some spark in the bottom of the order, as well as providing decent defense. The other elements for Boston has also done well, that being their pitching, which has been phenomenal, holding good teams like
Tampa and Detroit to fewer than three runs in most of their games. Plus, the bullpen has pitched incredibly well, with Koji Uehara having a less than 1 ERA in the postseason.
St. Louis though, has been playing equally well, with their pitching leading the way. St. Louis also has a big bat in Allen Craig coming back from a leg injury. Craig has not played in 7 weeks, but he will come back for the most important series of the year, where he goes, the Cardinals will probably go as well. Craig led the Cards with average around .330 with RISP, and the Cardinals really need that to get going in this series. The pitching, as mentioned, has been equally good, led by Adam Wainwright, and Michael Wacha, who as a rookie has been amazing in his first three postseason starts. I believe the Cardinals are the better overall team, and this will be a series which easily can go six or seven.

10 Best Football Games-Week 8-Part 2

Crazy day of college football just happened today, with upsets galore happening in the SEC, and Florida State saying "hello, we're a national title contender." Florida State just demolished Clemson in Death Valley by 37, and Jameis Winston is proving to everyone in the nation that he's a really good quarterback and Heisman front runner. But, now, on to the NFL side of picks.

Dallas at Philadelphia, 1, Fox

This game is for first place in the NFC Least, and both teams seem to be on equal footing. Plus, it's a rivalry game in the first place, so you throw out record anyway. This game will really be a measuring stick for Nick Foles as well, as he came in after Mike Vick got injured in the Giants game and led the Eagles to a win there over a bad Giants team. Then, he played the entire game in Tampa, but they are also really bad. Now, he has to go up against a pretty good pass rush and a decent secondary. I think he can handle it, and can really place himself in the pole position so to speak for the starting job in Philly. Plus, the Eagles are due to win at home, they haven't won there in over a year!

Pick: Eagles 38, Dallas 27

Cincinnati at Detroit, 1, CBS

Cincinatti is coming off two really good wins, one over the Patriots, who everyone knows is amazing, and then over a Buffalo team which is competitive every week and better than people think. Cincy's defense is also pretty strong, ranking in the top ten in the NFL, only allowing a little more than 300 yards per game. Plus, the Bengals are starting to find their rhythm on offense, having Andy Dalton and A.J. Green really click last week, plus Giovanni Bernard and the law firm, BenJarvus Green-Ellis combine to make a pretty good running back tandem. Detroit, meanwhile, is winning with their usual weapons of Matthew Stafford throwing to Calvin Johnson, as well as new running back Reggie Bush, who has helped light up the offense. But, the real reason is due to their ability to create turnovers, which is the key in their victory. Plus, the fact that they're at home, go with the Lions.

Pick: Detroit 31, Cincy 24

New England at New York Jets, 1, CBS

Yes, this is a rivalry game, but let's be honest, anyone really think the Patriots are going to lose, especially with Gronk likely to play?

Pick: New England 34, New York Jets 20

Cleveland at Green Bay, 4:25, CBS

Cleveland fell back to earth last week, losing after winning three straight games. Green Bay should come back to win this game, and really try to climb back into the NFC North division race.

Pick: Green Bay 35, Cleveland 17

Denver at Indianapolis, 8:30, NBC

Peyton Manning is returning to the stadium he truly helped build, Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time as an opponent of the Colts. He will be cheered perhaps more heavily than Andrew Luck, the guy who is doing a very good job replacing him. There will be a video tribute to Manning in the pregame, and it's just going to be a special night for everybody in the building. That said, Manning also wants to stick it to his former owner who didn't think he had anything left after his spinal fusion surgery and didn't want to pay him the money to keep him around. Both fair reasonings, and Jim Irsay, the Colts owner, really put up bulletin board material in Denver, quoting that Manning didn't win more Super Bowls because of not having a good enough defense or special teams.
But, let's not forget Luck and the Colts, who are coming off a short week, and their worst game of the season, are looking to rebound. Indianapolis really has to force turnovers to have a chance in this game, where both teams will be playing their hearts out. This is a really tough game to pick, but I'll go with Denver, solely because until they lose, they are still the best team in the league by far.

Pick: Denver 41, Indy 36

Coming Monday: World Series preview and pick.

10 Best Football Games-Week 8-Part 1

Yes, I know I missed last week, oh well. This week brings a good slate of both college and pro games. Now, on to the picks.

College

UCF at No. 8 Louisville, Friday, 8, ESPN

This is the only other real obstacle in Louisville's way of an undefeated season and capturing the American title in their only season in the American. Louisville didn't look too impressive last week in their victory over the only somewhat good team so far in their schedule in Rutgers last week, which certainly does not impress voters in their quest for a national title. Teddy Bridgewater really didn't look too good, their offense wasn't in sync, and the defense allowed the second most points so far this season. So, look for Louisville to really bounce back  against a very solid UCF team which beat Penn State in Happy Valley and only lost by three to a highly regarded South Carolina team.

Pick: Louisville 35, UCF 10

No. 22 Florida at No. 14 Mizzou, 12:21, ESPN3

First, how in the world did CBS not pick this game instead of Georgia-Vanderbilt for the early game of their SEC doubleheader? Secondly, look for Mizzou to get annihilated in their first game without star quarterback James Franklin, who was lost for the season in Mizzou's thrilling victory at Georgia last weekend. Florida's stud defense will just create turnovers and penetrate the backfield incessantly for their offense to have shoort fields to work with.

Pick: Florida 34, Mizzou 12

No. 24 Auburn at No. 7 Texas A&M, 3:30, CBS

Auburn is back to being relevant again for the first time since their title run back in 2010, ever since sCam Newton left. Auburn is also looking to bounce back against Texas A&M who completely pounded them last year in Auburn. This year, Auburn is coming back with defense, as they have only allowed four passing touchdowns and grabbing seven interceptions. Granted, most of this has been against Subpar competition like Western Carolina and Arkansas State. But, they do have some good wins too, against Washington State and Ole Miss. Auburn's only loss came at LSU, where they lost by 8. I expect them to lose again here, but put up slightly bigger offensive numbers, as A&M's defense is nowhere near the capability of LSU's.

Pick: TAMU 42, Auburn 31

No. 9 UCLA at No. 13 Stanford, 3:30, ABC

This is another great matchup, as it pits UCLA and a Stanford team which just got upset last week in Sal Lake City to Utah. This game also would help UCLA truly gain a stranglehold on the Pac-12 South and help Stanford get back into the thick of the Pac-12 North race. UCLA will also need to break a five game losing streak to the Cardinal, including two in a row to end last year. Once in the regular season finale and another in the Pac-12 championship game. UCLA will also need to end Stanford's 12 game regular season home winning streak. I think UCLA can break these streaks too, as Stanford has fallen to 11th in the Pac-12 in total offense. UCLA can also use revenge as a motivating factor to try and beat the Cardinal.

Pick: UCLA 31, Stanford 24

No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson, 8, ABC

This is the premier game in college football this week, as it's going to set the winner up for prime position right behind Oregon and Alabama for a spot in the national championship game. Just in case either one loses, this team will automatically be thrusted into the title game. Jameis Winston and the Seminoles have been great thus far this season, including a complete and utter destroying of a ranked Maryland team, 63-0. Florida State also comes into death valley rested, having a bye last week. But, Clemson has been in this position before, hosting then fifth ranked Georgia in the season opener, and beating them by 3. Plus, Clemson has been the benefactor in the past decade in death valley, where they have won every meeting there since 2001. Both teams have really good defenses and really good quarterbacks. But, go with Tajh Boys and the Tigers here in a squeaker.

Pick: Clemson 28, Florida State 26

Part two will come prior to Sunday obviously, and then I will also give a World Series preview after missing the LCS.

Quick Flyers/NHL primer

Yes, I know this is late, but the Flyers have only played one game so far, and they've got 81 to go because the players and owners have decided to stop being idiots after last season. Now, for your quickie Flyers primer.
 Who's in? Ray Emery-G, Vincent Lecavalier-F, and Mark Streit-D.
Who's out? Danny Briere-F, and Ilya Bryzgalov-G.
Do I think these moves help or hurt the team? I think they help the team, Streit was desperately needed for depth with the defensemen and Lecavalier, although he is on the wrong side of 30, he still helps the Flyers tremendously with goal scoring and he is essentially taking Briere's spot. Briere I think was a good player, but he lacked size, and was not worth the money the Flyers were paying him. Then, with Bryz, he was just a distraction for the team and to ship him out was the right move. Emery being brought in for a second stint is a nice addition, especially after his stellar season with the Blackhawks last season.
What else is different? Well, there was realignment which took place over the offseason which decreased the number of divisions to 2, and added a team to the Eastern conference and subtracted a team from the Western conference. The basic gist of it is this. Detroit and Columbus moved to the Eastern conference and Winnipeg moved to the Western conference. The divisions are now called the Metropolitan and Atlantic in the Eastern conference. The Western conference divisions are the Central and the Pacific. Philly is in the Metropolitan conference along with all three New York teams, Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus and Carolina.
Now, what else to expect in the 2013-14 season? The Olympics are in play this season, so the season is extended by three weeks. The season ends April 13, and the Stanley Cup Final will end in mid June. Also don't expect players to take off their helmets at all during fights. This is a preventitive measure so players get less concussions supposedly. There is also "hybrid" icing, which essentially means that when there is icing, the player who reaches the puck drop circle first is awarded the icing instead of whomever touches the puck. Finally, expect more goals as goalie pads have been forced to be smaller.
What's your prediction for the Flyers? Fourth in Metropolitan division, behind New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Washington Capitals in that order. Flyers sneak into playoffs as 7th seed.

10 Best Football Games-Week 6

This week provides plenty of games which are intriguing in the NFL, and a few pretty good college games. Only one featuring the SEC. The others college games feature some pretty good Big Ten and Pac-12 teams.

College (All Games Saturday)

No. 25 Maryland at No. 8 Florida State, Noon, ESPN

Maryland is ranked for the first time under Randy Edsall, proving he can rebuild programs. He built the program at UConn, then left for Maryland his "dream job" after Maryland fired the most successful coach in their history, Ralph Friedgen. Too bad for Maryland their stay in the top 25 will only last one week, as Maryland is 0-fer lifetime in Tallahassee, and that trend will continue in this game. Maryland has played a weak schedule so far, and the fact that Florida State has manhandled each opponent its had thus far.

Pick: Florida State 42, Maryland 23

Arkansas at No. 18 Florida, 7, ESPN2

Florida is looking to send Arkansas home with its 10th consecutive loss in the series. Florida leads the nation in time of possession and they have a good running back in Matt Jones, who ran all over Kentucky last week. Arkansas also has a good running game, which helps them be 13th in the country in TOP. Arkansas will try not to let coach Bret Bielema lose more than two in a row for only the second time in his career. Arkansas will also try and get out to an early lead and hold it. They blew a 17 point lead two weeks ago in Rutgers, and then last week could not overcome a deficit from Texas A&M.

Pick: Florida 31, Arkansas 21

No. 22 Arizona State vs. Notre Dame, in Arlington, TX, 7:30, NBC

This is part of the Notre Dame strategy to recruit throughout the nation, playing "home" games, calling it the Shamrock Series. Notre Dame has won each of their first four games in the series, granted, it's been to less than stellar opponents as well. Notre Dame hasn't played that well this season, as Tommy Rees has struggled passing, and that hasn't opened up the running game. So, the defense has played fairly well, but not well enough to truly be elite. Arizona State meanwhile, has played very well. They have an up tempo offense, led by quarterback Taylor Kelly, who has already thrown for over 1300 yards. But, they need their defense to step up, after allowing 41 points to a horrible USC team last week. They need the defense to step up and be formidable to challenge UCLA for the Pac-12 South title. I believe Arizona State has more than enough to beat Notre Dame, and badly.

Pick: Arizona State 41, Notre Dame 24

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 16 Northwestern, 8, ABC

Both teams come in unbeaten, both teams have played rather soft schedules, and both teams feature pretty good defenses. There are a few differences though, Ohio State and Northwestern are worlds apart when it comes to athletics and academics. Ohio State is known for having excellent football and basketball teams, take for instance the football team, who currently has a 17 game winning streak. The basketball team has been to the final four. Northwestern football is trying to get to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995, when their head coach was the starting middle linebacker. Northwestern basketball has never been to the NCAA tournament in its 75 years of existence. Northwestern has basically Ivy league standards for admission, while Ohio State will get you in on a 1200 SAT probably. But, for me, since College Gameday is in Evanston for the first time since 1995, go with the upset.

Pick: Northwestern 32, Ohio State 30

No. 15 Washington at No. 5 Stanford, 10:30, ESPN

Washington is looking for its second win in the series, after winning in a very low scoring affair, 17-13 last season. They are also looking to take the lead in the Pac-12 north. This is the first in a stretch of tough games for Washington, and if they come out of it 2-1, they've got a chance in the north division. But, Kevin Hogan is now the quarterback for the Cardinal, and he has been very good so far for Stanford. It should be a tough , hard fought game, but go with Stanford, who have looked dominating so far.

Pick: Stanford 28, Washington 21

NFL (All Games Sunday)

Philly at New York Giants, 1, Fox

Both teams are horrible. Both defenses are awful. Both teams still have a shot at winning the division because the division is dreadful. Get where I'm going here? It's going to be a shootout, and very well could come down to the last team who has the ball. I'm going with the lesser of the bad teams and the one who I think could produce more offense in the Eagles.

Pick: Philly 49, Giants 41

Seattle at Indianapolis, 1, Fox

Both teams have very good young quarterbacks who control the game well. Then, both teams have running backs who can turn into "beast mode" at any point. Both teams also have good defenses. This should be a good game which should be rather low scoring, and one of the undefeated teams will be no more.

Pick: Indianapolis 23, Seattle 21

New Orleans at Chicago, 1, Fox

New Orleans is another unbeaten team, and with its firepower on offense means that it can easily beat anyone, just so long as it's defense holds opponents to less than 24 points. Drew Brees has a set of receivers who can match any team, except for perhaps Denver. Plus, he has two good running backs in Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles who provide the power and speed respectively. Chicago last week seemingly couldn't stop the Detroit offense and Reggie Bush last week. Chicago didn't look all that impressive, and I don't think they'll be able to stop the Saints.

Pick: New Orleans 35, Chicago 26

Denver at Dallas, 4:25, CBS

Denver is the best team in the league. Dallas is the leader of the worst division in football. Plus, did anyone see Denver's second half last week, when they put up 38 points?

Pick: Denver 54, Dallas 27

Houston at San Francisco, 8:30, NBC

Houston let victory slip out of their hands last week against Seattle, and that was at home. Matt Schaub looked like a shell of his former self. San Francisco seemed to look like it put its game back together after its two consecutive defeats against St. Louis. Go with the 49ers.

Pick: San Francisco 31, Houston 24

MLB Division Series Preview

The postseason is finally here, after a month and a half of spring training and a five month regular season. Plus, the Rays and Pirates had to play another two and one game respectively just to get into the division series. The Rays had to beat the Rangers for the second wild card spot, and then beat the Indians in the Wild Card game to advance. The Pirates, yes, those Pittsburgh Pirates who have been an afterthought in MLB for the past 21 seasons beat the Reds for the NL wild card spot. But, now it's time for the real postseason to start with the Division Series, which begin today in the NL, and the AL begins tomorrow. All games will be on TBS, with the exception of game two of the Pittsburgh-St. Louis series which is on MLB Network and probably the Detroit-Oakland game 3 which will also be on MLB Network. Now, on to the previews.

National League

Pittsburgh-St. Louis

These two teams know each other very well, having played each other 19 times in the regular season, and the Pirates came out on top, barely, winning the season series 10-9, but the Cardinals won the final four games to help propel them to the division title. The Cardinals are very good all around, with plenty of balance up and down the lineup, with plenty of hitters getting good on base, and the Cards led the league in average with runners in scoring position (RISP). Plus, the Cardinals have excellent starting pitching, led by Adam Wainwright, who is a premier pitcher, followed by Lance Lynn and Michael Wacha, who progressed significantly in the second half. The only real weak spot for the Cardinals is the bullpen, who demoted their closer, Edward Mujica last month, and are now going with a committee for a closer, which throws everything off as far as each person's role.
The Pirates meanwhile, have this "team of destiny" feel to them. This is the first postseason or even winning season for the Pirates since 1992 when the team lost to the Braves in the NLCS. Since then, no team has had more futility than the Pirates, who have just been awful. Now, it's a new ballgame, with leadership in place with Russell Martin and Andrew McCutchen. Plus, the bullpen is perhaps the second best in the entire postseason, behind the Braves. The defense is also very solid, with each player making the plays they have to make.
This is a hard pick, but I'll take the experience over the hungry newcomer. Pick: Cardinals in 5.

Los Angeles-Atlanta

As a Braves fan, this is not the match up you wanted to see coming into the postseason. The reason why? The Dodgers have been playing .700 baseball since June 1, which is about the time their superstar, Yasiel Puig came up to the big leagues and set the league on fire. He is not the only reason for the Dodgers success though, as baseball is very much a team game with a lot of individual achievements. The Dodgers also have had success with their huge trade from the Red Sox last season, with excellent defense from Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Plus, they get a good batting average from Hanley Ramirez along with solid defense. Finally, the starting rotation is probably the best in the postseason, with probably the NL Cy Young winner in Clayton Kershaw and his below 2 ERA, followed by strikeout master Zack Greinke, and then Korean import Hyun-Jin Ryu and Ricky Nolasco, who are both very good.
The Braves meanwhile, are also a very good team, but the problem with the Braves is that they strikeout way too much and rely on their power way too much. So, the team is incredibly streaky, and that is ok in the regular season, not so much in the postseason. The Braves starting pitching is good, but doesn't have postseason experience, and the fact that Freddy Garcia is your number four starter is a problem. The bullpen more than makes up for it though, with getting to the seventh inning with a lead essentially means game over with Jordan Walden, Alex Wood and Craig Kimbrel closing out games.
As a Braves fan myself, I would love it if the Braves advanced, but as an analyst, I don't see their being a chance for the Braves. Pick: Dodgers in 4.

American League

Tampa Bay-Boston

Boston is a worst to first story, with them unloading salary in the trade with the Dodgers last season. It allowed Boston to sign second tier free agents like Koji Uehara, who has become their closer. Shane Victorino who has excelled in right field and provided his speed and little bit of power. Mike Napoli, who has become a de facto leader with his beard and actually playing good defense at first and providing raw power to the lineup. Jonny Gomes has also provided decent defense in left and plenty of power. Finally, they signed Stephen Drew, who is a suitable stopgap solution until uber prospect Xander Boegarts arrives next season. Boston's starting pitching has also been very good, with John Lackey having his best season since arriving in Boston, Clay Bucholz being a top pitcher, Jon Lester and then acquiring former Cy Young winner in Jake Peavy, who has been fantastic since arriving from Chicago. Boston also made a mid-season change in closer, putting Uehara in that role, and he has excelled, converting all but one save chances. And don't forget the managing change from control freak Bobby Valentine to laid back John Farrell who has led the team to its first AL East title since 2007.
Tampa Bay meanwhile has done their usual thing, getting very good managing from Joe Maddon, getting production from low cost free agents like James Loney, making shrewd trades like trading James Shields to the Royals and getting back super prospect Wil Meyers, who has made an impact in the outfield. The pitching has been very good, and the defense spectacular as usual. They are the typical underdog story, and you always want to root for them.
This series is going to be very good, and go back and forth. Tampa has been hot, winning five straight, including two straight elimination games. But, Boston has been very good all season, winning home-field throughout the entire playoffs. Pick: Tampa in 5.

Detroit-Oakland

This is again, a underdog versus powerhouse team. Oakland is the underdog despite having homefield. Oakland plays in a dump of a stadium comparative to Detroit's barely decade old park. The reason why Oakland has a dump of a stadium is due to sewage backups and because it's the only multipurpose stadium left in MLB on a full time basis. Toronto shares with the NFL's Buffalo Bills for one game a year. Oakland doesn't really have any name players either, with the biggest being Yoenis Cespedes, who was in the home run derby this year. Detroit meanwhile has four easily recognizable stars in probable AL Cy Young winner in Max Scherzer, 2011's Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, 2012's MVP Miguel Cabrera, and masher Prince Fielder. The starting pitching and relief pitching is stellar, the lineup is filled with very good hitters and a little bit of speed. The defense makes all the plays they're supposed to make, they may not make it to all the balls, but they're solid.
This is a rematch of last season's ALDS, which went five, and I expect the same here, with a different outcome, Oakland winning in 5, due to the underdog story and just having a slightly better bullpen.